Railroad-signal.



C. AURAND.

RAILROAD SIGNAL.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10, 1912.

Y Patented Mar/31,1914.

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CLYDE AURA'ND, O'F L-EWISTO'WN, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD-SIGNAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1214.

Application filed September 10, 1912. Serial No. 719,612.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CLYDE AURAND, a citizenof the United States, residing at Lewistown, in the county of hllil'fiinand State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements inRailroad-Signals, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railroad signaling devices and the principalobject of the invention is to provide a simple and eflicient signaladapted to be usedin connection with the ordinary semaphore which ispractically useless in foggy weather.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a novel form oftorpedo projector and a novel form of torpedo holder adapted to be usedin connection therewith in such a manner that the holder may beconveniently mounted upon the projecting mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of means forprojecting a torpedo over the rail in the operation of the ordinarysemaphore and for controlling the projecting means so that the semaphoremay be readily operated without projecting the torpedo,

Further objects of the invention will appear as the following specificdescription is read in connection with the accompanying drawing, whichforms a part of this application, and in which Figure 1 is a top planview. Fig. 2 is a side elevation with one of the sides of the casingremoved. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the torpedo holder withparts in section. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the end of theprojecting arm. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the torpedoholder,

Referring more particularly to the drawing 1 represents an ordinarysemaphore arm which is controlled in any suitable manner through the rod2. This rod has its lower end connected through a bell crank lever tothe audible signal operating rod 3. This rod extends horizontally and isconnected at one end to a lever 4 pivoted upon the case 4 and connectedat its upper end through a wire 5 to the lower end of an operating lever6 which is pivoted at 7 within the casing and is normally held in theposition shown by means of the springs 8. The forward portion of thecasing is provided as shown with an opening 9 and outside of the casingadjacent the opening is mounted an antifriction roller adapted tosupport the free end of the projecting arm 11 whose opposite end isconnected at 12 to the upper end of the lever 6. The outer or free endof the projecting arm 11 is bent upwardly as shown at 13 and is providedwith an aperture 14 adapted to receive the inwardly extending portion 15of the long leg 15 of the torpedo holder. This torpedo holder comprisesa substantially right angular plate 16 of malleable metal with a shortleg 17 connected thereto and extending parallel with the leg 15 Thematerial of which this torpedo holder is made is sufliciently resilientto permit the projecting portion 15 to snap into the aperture 14 andthereby secure the torpedo holder in position upon the projecting rod.In this connection it may be stated that it is desirable to hold thetorpedowhich is secured to the outer end of the member 16, about afourth of an inch above the rail and free of the same to as to preventthe torpedo from freezing to the rail which would prevent the operationof the device. The free end of the arm 11 and the torpedo is covered andprotected from the elements by means of an overhanging shelf 18 havingdepending flanges 19 to lie upon opposite sides of the torpedo holder.

As now described it will be seen that when the semaphore arm is operatedthe lower end of the lever will be pulled upon and the upper end thrownforward to project the torpedo arm 11. In many instances the signaloperator will throw the semaphore before a train has completely passedthe station so as to warn the train in the rear of the same, in thisinstance it is not desirable to have the torpedo projected on account ofthe fact that it will be exploded by the rear wheels of the train. Inorder to prevent the operation of the torpedo projector when desiredthere is interposed in the length of the wire 5 a spring 20 which is asstrong as the combined strength of the two springs 8 and pivoted upon astandard 21 rising from the bottom of the casing 4 is a dog 22 having aweighted end 28 to which is connected an operating wire or cable 24.This cable passes out of the casing and is connected to a leaf 25pivoted on the casing which is operated by a rod 26 controlled in anysuitable manner. When the operator desires to move the torpedo over therail simultaneously with the elevation of the semaphore arm he raisesthe weighted end of the dog 22 by operating the rod 26 through anysuitable means so as to carry the end of the dog out of the path ofthelower end of the lever 6. If it is desired to operate the semaphorewithout projecting the torpedo the dog is allowed to remain in theposition shown in full lines in Fig. 2 so that when the semaphore isoperated the lever 6 will be brought against the end of the dog and heldagainst movement. Further operation of the semaphore will stretch thespring as will be readily understood. The operator can then release thelever 6 by operating the rod 26 to withdraw the dog as will be readilyunderstood, at

. which time the spring 20 will act to operate the lever 6 and projectthe torpedo,

The connecting rod 11 has a lateral offset 30 formed within its lengthwhich is adapted to engage the roller 31 at the lower edge of theopening 9 so that the torpedo holder will be raised above the level ofthe head of the rail simultaneously with its projection. Therefore, itwill be seen that under normal circumstances with the torpedo retractedthe same is below the level of the rail and, therefore, free froniengagement by trailing parts on the car.

\Vhat is claimed is 1. The combination with a semaphore and operatingmechanism, of a horizontally slidable torpedo projecting arm having anaperturcd end, and a malleable torpedo holder having parallel legs tostraddle the apertured end, one of said legs having a bulge orprojection adapted to engage the aperture in the holder so as to securethe holder in position upon the projecting arm. 7 2. The combinationwith a semaphore and means for operating the same, of a slidably mountedtorpedo projecting arm, an operating connection between the arm and thesemaphore including a resilient member, a

torpedo supporting member carried by the arm and means to prevent theoperation of the said projecting arm during the operation of thesemaphore. 1

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLYDE AURAND.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O.

